Ebola Red Alert This Season

In recent times, some countries in West Africa have been plagued by the killer Ebola virus disease. Though Nigeria had its own share of the disease, it has been certified Ebola-free. Thus, during this festive period that people travel in greater numbers, it becomes imperative for all agencies at the various entry points into the country – airports, seaports, land borders, and for Nigerians in general to be on the alert to prevent  the disease from being imported back into the country the way the late Liberian, Patrick Sawyer did this  year.

Two days ago, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris advised Nigerians to continue to adhere to all precautionary measures and alerted relevant agencies to prevent Ebola from being imported into the country during the yuletide season due to the mass movement of people to various locations to celebrate with their loved ones.   

In October, 2014, Nigeria, after it deployed all resources in its arsenal against the spread of Ebola, was certified Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation, WHO, a development that attracted global recognition and applause for both the Lagos State government and the federal government.  While some countries are still battling to cage the epidemic, Nigeria was able to combat the scourge within 42 days. Nigerian government received accolades for exhibiting unusual gallantry in stemming the spread of the disease.

Despite the celebrated victory over Ebola epidemic in Nigeria, concerned officers must not  relent in conducting thorough screening at airports, seaports and other entry points into the country in order to consolidate the victory over the disease.  Some Nigerians are less conscious of personal precautionary measures since the country has been certified free of Ebola.  Screening exercises are being relaxed in most schools and public places. This should not be so, since the disease is still killing people in droves in neighboring West African countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

We acknowledge the massive public awareness and media campaigns carried out by the government on the disease. We expect that the campaigns and the public enlightenment should be sustained until the disease is totally eradicated from the affected West African countries. It is a great task to win a battle but sustaining the victory also warrants a greater level of vigilance and commitment.